North Carolina lawmakers have completed their first veto override of the year, enrolling the state in the federal school choice tax credit. House Bill 87 was originally filed as a “Cell Phone-Free Education” bill with bipartisan support until it was changed in the Senate to the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA).
Now the bill opts North Carolina into the controversial federal tax credit program created by Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. For those living in one of the 31 states enrolled in the program, a dollar-for-dollar tax credit with a 1700 cap is available on donations made to institutions that grant school choice scholarships.
Last year, Representative Julie von Haefen, a Democrat, said, “There is literally no other cause existing right now — not children’s hospitals, veterans’ groups, disaster relief organizations — that taxpayers can contribute to and receive the entire cost of their contribution bankrolled by their federal government.”
When lawmakers sent the bill to Gov. Stein last year, he vetoed the bill. In his veto message, Stein called the bill unnecessary. Though he condemned Congress for its lack of investment in public schools, he said he planned to opt the state into the program once the federal government issued “sound guidance” on the program.
“I see opportunities for the federal scholarship donation tax credit program to benefit North Carolina’s public school kids. Once the federal government issues sound guidance, I intend to opt North Carolina in so we can invest in the public school students most in need of after-school programs, tutoring, and other resources. Therefore, HB 87 is unnecessary, and I veto it.”
That was in August of last year, and the House has been holding on to the veto since then – alongside other vetoed bills waiting to be overridden.
The House and Senate voted along party lines to override Stein’s veto, with the help of former Democratic Representatives Carla Cunningham and Nasir Majeed, who are now unaffiliated. Cunningham and Majeed were the only non-Republicans to vote in favor of the bill before it was sent to Stein.
Republican Senate leader Phil Berger praised the bill as a way for parents to have more choice over their child’s education. During the debate, Republican Senator Mike Lee stated the credit would benefit all students in North Carolina.
However, the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) denounced the lawmakers’ actions.
“Rather than invest in the students who need it most,” said NCAE President Tamika Walker Kelly, “lawmakers have found another way to provide tax giveaways to the wealthy at the expense of working families who depend on public education.”
Stein and other educational advocates argue that the tax credit funds could be used to bolster public schools and after-school programs, as North Carolina ranks one of the lowest states for public school spending.
